1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to vehicle simulators and, more specifically, to a vehicle vibration simulator to simulate occupant exposure to vibration in a motor vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is known to use human subjective testing for vibration of vehicles such as motor vehicles. Many studies have been performed to determine the effect of vehicle vibration on occupant ride comfort. These data have been obtained with different motor vehicles operated over a test track or specific road surfaces or city streets. These data have been shown to be subject to both bias and variability which make it difficult to obtain representative and repeatable data.
One attempt to overcome disadvantages in the vehicle studies has been to provide general vehicle driving simulators. However, these vehicle driving simulators focus on overall vehicle steering dynamics and visual simulation rather than vibration. The motion capabilities of these vehicle driving simulators apply to the vehicle as a whole, with no independent control of seat, floorpan, steering wheel. Also, these driving simulators are aimed at reproducing steering and suspension dynamics, with response up to five Hertz (5 Hz), rather than total vehicle vibration simulation. Further, these vehicle driving simulators may use vibration motors to excite the base and overall frame of the simulator but are not controlled to excite multiple components in specific translational or rotational directions.